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Bitcoin will never replace fiat
2179 sats \ 22 comments \ @SpaceHodler 16 May bitcoin
That's because fiat sucks and Bitcoin doesn't.
Since Bitcoin lacks this important property of sucking, it can never replace fiat, because it can't fulfill fiat's best use case, which is as a short. It's just not fit for the purpose.
Fiat is issued as debt and more fiat (i.e. debt) needs to be issued to pay off old debt, otherwise the world would default. This never-ending spigot funds unprofitable businesses and projects that get access to fiat loans. Bitcoin will never do that.
People want to borrow fiat to benefit from the Cantillon effect. Once they've borrowed it, they dump it for something that sucks less. That "something" doesn't have to not suck; it just needs to suck less, which pretty much everything does. It's a very profitable trade that those who benefit from it want to keep in perpetuity.
This fiat short interest, i.e. people's desire to own debt denominated in it, Bitcoin will hardly attract, because it's not desirable to owe bitcoin to someone. We want positive bitcoin balances, not negative ones.
This is not to say fiat will never die. It just won't be replaced. Just like smallpox, it got eradicated and hasn't been replaced.
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38 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 16 May
Yes! I dig this position. Well stated sir.
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45 sats \ 1 reply \ @hasherstacker 16 May
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Kontext 17 May
Love to see my memes out in the wild! 🧡
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10 sats \ 0 replies \ @88b0c423eb 16 May
How to say a lot about a simple thing ...lol
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21 sats \ 2 replies \ @CruncherDefi 17 May
fiat usecase which is as a short
I think you are missing important piece. Fiat is short instrument for privileged elites*.
Bitcoin gives option to easily short fiat to everyone. If asymmetry is eliminated why bother still keeping fiat? If asymmetry is eliminated everyone (including privileged elites) is better off with a simpler system.
== *Privileged elite on the planetary scale. >90% of humans cannot buy real estate or stocks.
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @SpaceHodler OP 17 May
Bitcoin gives option to easily short fiat to everyone.
To short fiat you need access to fiat credit. I don't think the average person in a developing country can take out a fiat loan to buy bitcoin.
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10 sats \ 0 replies \ @CruncherDefi 17 May
I'd argue that simply holding bitcoin is being short fiat with neutral 1x leverage. Fiat credit allows for higher >1 leverage shorting.
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42 sats \ 0 replies \ @nerd2ninja 16 May
Just as with smallpox, Fiat will be eradicated, but not replaced
Such a cold line that hits harder than I was ever expecting going into this. Great work. Damn great work
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10 sats \ 1 reply \ @SwapMarket 16 May
Agree, investors love playing musical chairs and hot potato games, pretending they earn yield, optimizing risk/reward and dodging taxes. Holding bitcoin in cold storage gives zero adrenalin rush.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @jerrybature 17 May
Investment mindset works well with fiat but not bitcoin.
Holding bitcoin in cold storage gives zero adrenalin rush.
bitcoin is anti-stress.
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300 sats \ 0 replies \ @newsy_guy 16 May
Funny and sharp take. Makes sense Bitcoin won’t replace fiat because it can’t play the same debt game. It’s not that it needs to replace it., just outlast it.
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20 sats \ 1 reply \ @zapsammy 17 May
this sounds similar to my argument that transition onto a bitcoin standard is not a revolution (as in the revolving door), but an evolution of consciousness out of darkness; people who still live by fiat will die by fiat, because they have been retarded by it, and the retardation is accelerating;
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @jerrybature 17 May
people who still live by fiat will die by fiat, because they have been retarded by it, and the retardation is accelerating
I completely agree.
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20 sats \ 1 reply \ @flat24 16 May
I could share your thought 💭
And I add mine. "We do not need Bitcoin to replace the Fiat."
He cannot do it and it is not necessary, Bitcoin has done his job since he came to light 16 years ago.
Our duty is to learn to avoid Fiat and treasure our energy in something that we can protect without external risks.
And the Fiat will continue using it.
Do you really think that governments are going to leave the Keynesian model once?
I think they will never do it.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @jerrybature 17 May
That is why bitcoiners are suppose to be adversarial in their thinking. Your number one enemy is the government.
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20 sats \ 1 reply \ @coinhome 16 May
I find your point about the Cantillon effect really intriguing. It’s fascinating how people are always looking for what benefits them the most, even if it means dumping assets sometimes.
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10 sats \ 0 replies \ @jerrybature 17 May
And to me, bitcoin is not really an investment tool, its simply a "what-you-put-in-is-what-you-get-out" system. It protects your wealth.
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5 sats \ 1 reply \ @watchmancbiz 17 May
not Bitcoin, but a Digital Currency tied to Cryptocurrency blockchain is likely to come very near future. a totalitarian gov. backed version though.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Riberet 17 May
Are you referring to CBDCs?
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @ifnix05 17 May freebie
Maybe not entirely, but it's not about replacing fiat—it's about offering an alternative. Bitcoin represents financial freedom, decentralization, and the power to opt out of traditional systems that don't serve everyone equally. Whether it replaces fiat or not, its existence is already reshaping how we think about money.
0 sats \ 0 replies \ @aPolitical 17 May
No one's ever expecting fiat to replace bitcoin, they're both distinct currencies
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @jerrybature 17 May
People want to borrow fiat to benefit from the Cantillon effect. .... It's a very profitable trade that those who benefit from it want to keep in perpetuity.
The poor wants to climb the ladder of fiat to get to benefit from the Cantillon effect, while the rich, who already benefited from the Cantillon effect wants to keep the system rolling. So, indeed it's going to be very difficult for bitcoin to replace fiat. But, for me as bitcoiner I strongly believe that it is this behavior by the "Fiatelos" that could eventually lead to the complete break down of the fiat system.
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